Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Saxiif]

Please note that everything that you agree with is serious and anything that you disagree with is tongue in cheek.

-We fill jobs that would otherwise be filled by Koreans (to at least some extent). There are apparently quite a few shiny new English lit. majors who're having a hard time finding jobs. We thus raise Korea's unemployment rate.

-We consume vastly more imported goods than the average Koreans, thus undermining Korea's trade surplus and one of the strongest pillars of Korean prosperity.

-We send at least some of our money home and tend to show up relatively broke, thus draining money out of Korea's economy.

-Our numerous visa runs drain the money of Korean parents into useless plane trips, overpriced Japanese subways and whatnot.

-Our presence makes the presence of additional translators and interpreters necessary, thus raising the cost of doing business in Korea.

-The English languange fad, which our presence here encourages, results in Koreans travelling abroad to enroll in English language programs, thus draining even more money out of the Korean economy.

-Learning English makes Koreans more likely to go abroad for vacations. This deprives such paradises as Jejudo of badly needed revenue.

-People with good English in Korea tend to be better educated and wealthy (or at least have parents wealthy enough to pay to have English crammed into their heads). These people are more likely to emigrate to an English-speaking country, thus contributing to a brain (and to some extent wealth) drain that is depriving Korea of some of its best and brightest.

-We provite Koreans who will stay in Korea with a useless skill, all that learning English lets them do it talk to foreigners in Korea who are usually only here in order to teach Korean or get a nifty-looking TOEFL score, neither of which do *beep*-all to further Korean prosperity. Unless you believe the ridiculous Korean government line about Korea becomming a NE Asia business hub, all that learning English does it take up time that could be used learning something that is actually somewhat useful to someone who is living in Korea.

-We look funny and thus distract Koreans which results in countless stubbed toes and near-traffic accidents.

Thus we are vile parasites and are the cause of all of Korea's problems.

[IconsFanatic]

I don't know about depriving Korean grads of English lit of jobs.... we as Westerns tend to attach a connotation of "legitimacy" to the schools we work for.

Arguably, we create more jobs for fellow Korean hagwon teachers by getting more students involved.

I guess it all depends on how many Korean parents wouldn't send their kids to an English hagwon if it didn't have a Western teacher.

[johnriley007]

seriously, th hagwon industry is multi-billion and hagwons make a lot more money because of us. sure, there are a lot of english majors, but that doesn't mean they can speak it. i teach adults, who have majored in enlgish and they can only read and write in english, and it's a disorganized mess at that. i don't think the hagwons could exist without us, jsut as we could not exist without the korean teachers for translating to the kids etc...

personally, i think that foreigners spend a lot more money in some respects: food, beer, sightseeing, plane tickets etc...

i think more foreigners would make korea better. i don't know about you, but i'm from new york, and i love meeting people from all different countries. it definitely happens here, but it would be nice if there was a bigger international community.

[Saxiif]

[Mashimaro]

foreign teachers in my experience are tight wads.
take a look over in the buy and sell forum. inevitably you will see someone is moving back to Canada and selling there worldly belongings.

- egg beater 2000 won (paid 2500 thousand last year)
- old pot and a plate 3500 won (won't separate)

for god's sake GIVE IT AWAY!!!!!!

about the only people to benefit greatly would be the beer/pub/nightclubs from the high proportion of heavy drinkers/alcoholics.

[lush72]

[waggo]

[johnriley007]

seriously, th hagwon industry is multi-billion and hagwons make a lot more money because of us.

So? If it wasn't English the kids would be packed off to some other hagwon, probably one that employs more Koreans and imparts more useful knowledge.

Quote:
personally, i think that foreigners spend a lot more money in some respects: food, beer, sightseeing, plane tickets etc...

But a disproportional amount of that is imported stuff, thus undermining Korea's trade surplus and bringing doom and destruction down onto the fragile Korean economy!

what's more important than coloring and hangman?
also, where is all of this so-called imported stuff that you speak of?

[royjones]

real teachers do more than hangman and coloring (coloring with kindy), sorry to hear that your teaching amounts to that.

[johnriley007]

sorry for making a joke on what i thought was a light-hearted thread.

[Saxiif]

[lush72]

[hellofaniceguy]

OK...a multi million dollar a year industry...
still...one is hard pressed to go to ANY city in korea and find koreans who can hold an intelligent conversation in English! Not kongolish and not koreans born and raised or educated in the west...I am talking about koreans who have never left korea and have been studying English for YEARS and still can't put a sentence together! Look at the students in the high schools...they study English for 3 years PLUS attend hakwons for years and still they can't...same with university students.
Yes, some can speak fairly well...I am not saying they can't...but...the majority can't is what I am saying. Look at the ratio of students studying English vs those who can speak English intelligently.
Money wasted? Not for hakwon owners! If you are a hakwon owner and have the gift of gab...you'll make money! It is however the FT's who make the hakwons money. Not the KT's.
In my opinion...many KT's should NOT be teaching English! Some native teachers also, but many of you KT's have no business teaching! Heck...most of you can't speak competent English either!

[Swiss James]

[Saxiif]